Łodź (Poland). From 18 to 20 October 2024 in Łodź, at the School of the Salesians of Don Bosco of Saint Stanislaus Kostka Province (PLE), the Provincial Youth Festival took place with the theme that unites the pastoral actions of all the Polish Provinces in this school year: “Mission Hope“.
This edition had a record number of participants compared to the others. There were more than 300 young people and organizers from 14 cities of the PLE Salesians’ Provinces and Our Lady of Jasna Góra Province (PLJ) of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, accompanied by 26 FMA, a priest, Fr. Paweł Konarski from Łomianki, and the cleric Radek Kaczyński SDB from Kraków. The SDB Community in Łódź was very welcoming, took care of the pastoral service, and provided all the necessary spaces and rooms.
During the Festival, participants received a green T-shirt, which refers to hope, and the underlined word “I” in the logo stressed the main idea of the event: I have a mission and I bring hope. In Polish “hope” and “mission” are a pun: both end with the word “ja” which means “I”.
The biblical source of the Feast was the gospel passage of the miraculous catch of fish (Lk 5: 1-11). Encouraged by Jesus to go into the deep and cast their nets, the young people had the opportunity to approach the sacrament of Reconciliation to return again to undertake their mission to which they are called as the Salesian Youth Movement.
A very significant moment was the Eucharistic Celebration on 19 October, during which two FMA Sisters, Sister Halina Rutkowska and Sister Monika Tanasiewicz, made their Perpetual Vows. The young people formed a circle around the Professed Sisters in the gesture of prayer and blessing, and the Sisters confirmed to the participants their willingness to give themselves totally to God and to the young people.
In the proximity of the anniversaries of the Salesian missionary Expeditions, there was no lack of missionary emphasis. The missionaries invited were Fr. Paweł Libor, SDB, Sister Gabriela Rhode, FMA, and the volunteer missionary Małgorzata Kuchta. During the round table, they told the young people about the reality of missionary work in different geographical and social contexts. Another guest was Fr. Francisco Cervantes, SDB of the Youth Ministry Sector of the Salesian Congregation, who came from Rome and shared his experience of the August 2024 Synod of Salesian Youth (SYS). He encouraged the young people by saying that, as members of SYM, it is important to accompany each other and bring hope to their peers around the world.
Another highlight of the meeting were the workshops, characterized by concrete services for the good of others. The young people, divided into small groups, reached various places. They helped the Służebiczniczki Sisters and the Antoniane Sisters to collect the leaves, cleaned and arranged the abandoned graves at the cemetery, went to the Social Welfare Institute, the Carmelites, the Missionary Sisters of Charity, helped prepare food for the poor, prepared sandwiches and a hot meal together with the volunteers of the action “Soup in Pietryna“, sewed stuffed animals for the pupils of the House for single mothers. They went out to the streets of Łódź to share with people a good word and a smile.
Saturday evening was a real Salesian party, which began with the traditional Polonez dance for more than 100 couples led by the FMA Alumni Jakub Drzewiecki, now professional organizer of parties. In the Salesian spirit, the young people, the FMA, and the accompanying persons were not lacking joy, so that it was difficult to stop dancing.
The Provincial Feast ended with the Sunday Eucharist. As a sign, each one brought a small compass as a reminder that Hope indicates the direction in one’s life.
The encounter was realized thanks to many people, especially the young people of the Provincial Youth Council together with the Sisters of the Pastoral Council. In the review, one of the organizers wrote that she is happy to be able to serve others with her own talents, because she knows that the Salesian Family has brought much into her life and she wants to reciprocate.
Another young man added, “The thing I liked most was the opportunity to serve. It is a great opportunity to give your time, to give something of yourself. I tried to be wherever there was need and it was formative for me.”
Expressing gratitude for the beautiful experience of this Festival, the FMA of the PLJ Province hope that it will bring good fruits in the lives of young people and local communities.
